Court gives Libya war crimes case

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AMSTERDAM — Slain dictator Moammar Khadafy’s intelligence chief should face a war crimes trial in Libya, judges at the International Criminal Court ruled on Friday.

The decision in the case of Abdullah al-Senoussi, already convicted of one aircraft bombing and suspected in a second major incident, essentially endorses Libya’s legal system as fair and functional enough to handle his complex trial for war crimes allegedly committed during the uprising against Khadafy two years ago.

The former spy chief was Khadafy’s brother-in-law and part of his inner circle.

He is also wanted in Libya for his alleged role in the 1996 massacre of more than 1,200 people at the Abu Salim prison.

Under international law, each country has the first right — and the obligation — to try its suspected war criminals. The pretrial chamber found that Libyan authorities are ‘‘willing and able’’ to prosecute Senoussi, and therefore he cannot be tried at the ICC.